Father Michael W. Davis, M.A., M.Div., M.Ed., is a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Miami, Florida, ordained on May, 12, 1990. He is a classmate of St. Jerome’s most recent pastor, Monsignor Kenneth Schwanger. Until his appointment to Saint Jerome’s Church, Father Davis served from 2008 to 2010 as the Spiritual Director and Director of Liturgy at Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he worked in the formation and education of future priests. Previous to his time at the seminary, he served for eight years at Miami’s Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School, six of those years as the Supervising Principal, President, and CFO.

Born in Hamilton, Ohio, and a product of Catholic education since 2nd grade, he moved to South Florida in December of 1984, after graduating from the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, where he majored in Latin American Studies and Spanish. Following college graduation, he was elected by the Archbishop of Miami to begin his theological studies in Rome, Italy, where he studied at the Gregorian and Angelicum Universities.

Continuing his seminary formation at Saint Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, he earned a Master’s degree in Systematic Theology, and Master’s degree in Divinity before his ordination to the priesthood in May of 1990. After ordination he studied at Boston College, where he received a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership.

During his nearly 20 years of priestly ministry, Father Davis has worked in multi-cultural and multi-lingual environments, primarily among Caribbean Hispanics. He has studied Spanish, Italian, Latin, and Greek. He has served in two parishes as parochial vicar and has also served in four Florida archdiocesan high schools: in capacities such as chaplain, classroom teacher, Department Chair, Vice Principal, and President. He has taught students at all levels of elementary, high school, and collegiate education, addressing many different subjects.

In 1997, he began a three-year term of service as the Chair of the Theology Department at Saint John Vianney College Seminary, where he served as a professor of theology, Director of the Apostolic Service Program and Director of Liturgy. While there, he also taught public speaking. In 1997 Father Davis was the host of a local radio program entitled, “In the Shoes of the Fishermen,” a weekly broadcast about priesthood and religious life. In 1998, he appeared on television as a special guest commentator for the live coverage of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Havana, Cuba on Miami’s Fox Channel 7. He has also appeared on the PBS program entitled Viewpoint, where, as a Marian scholar, he spoke about Catholic teaching on the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Father Davis is a prolific leader of pilgrimages. One particularly noteworthy pilgrimage was the Easter 2005 trip to Rome, where his pilgrimage group received the last Easter blessing of the late Pope John Paul II. The following December, he was able to lead yet another trip to Rome, during which he was able to pay his respects to the late Holy Father by visiting his grave site in the undercroft of Saint Peter’s Basilica and receive the first New Year’s blessing of Pope Benedict XVI. Another travel highlight was his June 2006 visit to the Holy Land, where he traveled to Nazareth, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem. He has lived in Italy and Mexico, spent a summer in the Dominican Republic, and has visited all 50 states in the United States of America. Soon to finish his licentiate degree in Mariology from the International Marian Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio, he has led many vocation retreats, youth retreats, Marian missions, women’s retreats, and Days of Recollection for teachers throughout Florida, Mississippi, California, and Ohio.